iTunes Gets Beatles Into Its Life

McCartney 65, and Ringo Starr, the only other surviving Beatle, will net millions, along with the families of John Lennon and George Harrison.

Most Popular Catalog to Go Online

The collection is estimated to be worth Pounds 200 million (US$403 million) and is predicted to dominate the download chart for months when it is released on Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iTunes.

Including albums such as Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Help! and the White Album, it will be the most popular music catalog ever released on the Internet .

Expensive Divorce

McCartney's share could help to meet the divorce settlement he will be ordered to pay ex-wife Heather Mills at the High Court in London in nine days.

However, some observers say the huge online windfall could mean the model and landmine campaigner seeks a higher settlement.

Mills, 40, who was married to McCartney for four years and is the mother of his youngest child, Beatrice, may argue she is entitled to a cut of his future income.

The bitter battle over Macca's Pounds 825 million fortune ($1.66 billion) was played out over six days behind closed doors in court last month.

His legal and professional expenses for the case are likely to add up to about Pounds 5 million ($10.1 million).

'Primed, Ready to Go'

The catalog's online release has been on the back-burner for many years, with a number of legal wrangles holding the deal up.

McCartney told U.S. industry magazine Billboard recently: "It's all happening soon. The whole thing is primed, ready to go. There's maybe one little sticking point left, and I think it's being cleared up as we speak so it shouldn't be too long."

Bookies Friday night reported a surge in betting on which of the band's hits will be the top the charts first with "Hey Jude" the 4-1 favorite and "Love Me Do" also popular at 10-1.